Xerography is a printing process in which very fine powder referred to as "toner" is applied to paper or other material to form an image. Photocopiers, printers, plotters, and facsimile machines are examples of devices which may utilize a xerographic printing process. All xerographic devices require a supply of toner for use in the xerographic process. Since the toner supply in a xerographic device is used up in the printing process, the toner supply must be the replenished periodically.
Toner is commonly supplied in toner cartridge assemblies which include a toner bin or hopper. The toner cartridge assembly may also include other components of the xerographic device. For example, toner cartridges commonly include a magnetic roller assembly used in the xerographic process. Regardless of the other components which may be included in a toner cartridge, the toner bin within the cartridge assembly is sealed in order to prevent the fine toner powder from leaking while the cartridge is stored or transported. Prior to loading the toner cartridge into a xerographic device, the toner bin seal must be removed in order to make the toner available for use by the xerographic device.
Toner cartridges which are originally supplied with xerographic devices are commonly intended to be disposable after a single use. However, since the cartridges include a large number of relatively complex components, using these cartridge assemblies only a single time is expensive and wasteful. For this reason a toner cartridge recycling industry has developed to refurbish and recycle used toner cartridge assemblies. Recycling a used toner cartridge involves at least refilling the depleted toner bin with toner and resealing the toner bin for storage and shipment.
Numerous problems arise with recycling toner cartridge assemblies. Most toner cartridge assemblies are purposefully designed so that the toner bin is not readily accessible. Thus the recycler must pry or cut open the cartridge assembly to gain access to the toner bin. Specialized toner cartridge splitting equipment has been developed for cutting used cartridges open to expose the toner bin. This specialized equipment is at the very least expensive and sometimes can damage a used toner cartridge beyond repair. Once the various components of the toner cartridge assembly are pried or cut apart, the components are not easily put back together in a secure fashion. The problem of reassembling the toner cartridge components is exacerbated by the very limited space available for reconnecting arrangements. Furthermore, the toner material itself is very fine and difficult to seal securely, particularly with a seal which must be easily removable.